History. Mystery. Research-in-Progress.

Civil War Stereographs at the LOC

For those who have kept up with the activities surrounding the 150th anniversary of Abraham Lincoln’s death, check this out:

“The Library of Congress has acquired 540 rare and historic Civil War stereographs from the Robin G. Stanford Collection. The first 77 images are now online, including 12 stereographs of President Lincoln’s funeral procession through several cities and 65 images by Southern photographers showing South Carolina in 1860-61. ” (Source: LOC)

According to a press release, the LOC will post all of the images of the collection, once digitized. The archivists have done a great job scanning in the images. The stereographs are faded and it is hard to see some of the images, but we have images from the past, folks! We have new information about the past! I love it!

Emmett’s father, Dr. Francis C. Wilson, served from 1861-1865 with the 11th Regiment, Alabama Infantry. He wasn’t a physician; he wasn’t even a hospital aide. According to the transcript of a speech Dr. Wilson himself gave about his Civil War experiences, he was a regular soldier.

Transcript of the speech by Dr. Wilson about his Civil War experiences. The speech was transcribed by his wife, Kate Jordan Wilson, Emmett’s stepmother. This is Kate Jordan Wilson’s handwriting.

It is possible that there may be an image within the stereograph collection that includes Dr. Wilson as a young Confederate soldier. Yeah, the odds are slim, but then, the odds were pretty unlikely that I’d have discovered so much information about Emmett Wilson at this point.

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If you have a chance to visit the Library of Congress here in D.C., it is worth at least a day or two of your time. In addition to the exhibits, the archivists and historians are wonderful people, and they actually enjoy talking about their work behind the scenes.

And if you do, you might find me sitting in a carrel with a microfilm reader or a big dusty book one of these days! Be sure to say hello!